Bradwell Power Station’s cost-cutting means site grows “more precarious” with time, warn campaigners. A nuclear disaster could hit Bradwell because of cost-cutting measures during the power station’s decommissioning process, it is claimed. Magnox, in charge of making the site safe, decided it could shave 12 years off the project’s timescale and cut costs by keeping the boilers in situ, This is despite a report by regulatory body the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), advising it would be cheaper, safer and more efficient to remove the boilers. Its inspector stated that the proposal to leave the boilers in place presented: “a risk of [them] toppling, leading to release of contamination from other parts of the plant”. It also stated: “A seismic event could cause the boilers’ concrete support plinths to collapse leading to the boilers falling over. Professor Andy Blowers, of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), said: “These boilers are really something to be seen. They’re gigantic so I would think the main reason they left them in place is logistics and cost. “They would be very expensive and difficult to move so they’re leaving that for future generations. “But if you’ve got these boilers on old concrete plinths, it’s plausible that the weight of the boilers alone could cause them to crack. This, in itself, means the building could certainly fail. “We only have to look at Fukushima to see that when accidents can happen they will happen. “What looks quite passive is actually very sinister and dangerous. In the long term that site becomes more precarious.”
Essex Chronicle 4th May 2016 read more »